Reviews of Sony VAIO(R) SVS13A25PXB 13.3" Premium Notebook PC - Black

Customer Ratings:

Good computer. Windows 8 comes preloaded which is a pain. More trouble than it's worth with a non touch screen computer. The computer it's self is very fast. Ergonomics are good. Keyboard is still a good usable size. Don't love the mouse pad, but easy fix with a blue tooth mouse. Screen is average although the graphics when on my standard 1080 p monitor are above average. There is a light sensor that automatically sets screen brightness. I had to disable it because the screen would constantly flicker brighter and darker.

All in all a good value.

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The hardware is great, but you need get used to Windows 8.

This computer is very fast, light. Really worth its price!

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She is a great computer with a lot more power that the tiny ultrabooks.

What I do not like is really the sound. Not yet they have found no solution for him.

For the rest, for normal tasks a lot of RAM, Hard Disk SSD, and super video plate, although I will always use the HD4000 as it is in these hybrid equipment.

The cabinet fashion repeats with my predecessor VPC-SA4FGX/BI.

A little expensive for me, since I live in Argentina, and I have spent around 1870 dollars(final in my office), but to my 50 years, I prepare some gifts, since life is very short to save money.

I have just found a more cost-reducing offer that he is and in 17,3"incredible! "Sony Vaio SVE1712BCXB 17.3" 2.80GHz i7-3840QM 16GB 500GB SSD AMD 7650M FullHD Windows 8 BD-ROM"

Thanks Amazon! Amazing....Joe

Buy Sony VAIO VGN-Z520N/B 13.1" Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400

Customer Ratings:

I am extrememly happy with this new Sony laptop which had all the bells and whistles I was looking for. The only con is only two USB ports which are on opposites side of the the laptop--a design improvement Sony should make would be a third one with power) along side one of the other ones.

However, what I most want to review is Amazon's handling of a minor problem I had. While the details of a minor problem with the initial computer was worked out, Amazon immediately sent me, without charge, another identical computer. I have since returned the "extra" computer, but Amazon's swift action at no cost to me has made me a happy and loyal customer.

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I have owned a thinkpad X41 for 5 years. I loved it because it was small, light, and relatively powerful. After all that time of constant usage and unintended abuse, I went into the market for a replacement. That was/is a sturdy laptop that just refused to die.

I looked at the Lenovo X200 and X300 at the store. The x200 is small and fast, but my eyes really needed a bigger screen than a 12". Especially if you do graphics and design work. Plus it still lacked a dvd drive. The X300 is just over priced and still looks like my 5 year old laptop just wider. When I went to the store and saw all three I immediatly went online and bought the Sony VAIO VGN-Z570N.

It is a great laptop! The battery litereally lasts 5 hours on Vista! Imagine downgrading to XP (included) or using linux. I also got the deal where you get a free bag and battery if you buy by the end of December (check out pc nation). The keyboard is smooth and responsive. I love the toggle switch between performance (when using photoshop) and stamina (when just surfing the net). The screen is pretty wide and the resolution is incredible. It boots really fast (I am windows user). It has an HDMI slot and now I am watching movies on my HD screen dowloaded on this laptop. I do wish the screen was taller but that's not such a big deal. I highly recommend this laptop for people looking for performance, portability, and style!

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Initial experience was mixed. The set up files for Microsoft One Care were corrupted (and on the restore partion also). I tried Norton 360 trial for security. Wireless sped seems to be slower than previous Centrino N setups. Sony support went on the system and nearly trashed it. I suspect the excellent but very tight security of Norton, may have added to my problems. After initial frustration, I tied to restore it to factory settings and used a disc for Microsoft One care. With his new instalation, what a difference. This is now the computer I was looking for. While the WiFi is still at 65 Mpbs, video from other computers comes in smooth I am using a D-Link dir 655 N router). The Sprint wireless works very well. The unit has builtin GPS and works easlilly with Microsoft Streets and Trips 2009. Battery life is good, with wireless on I would estimate 3-4 hours of usefull battery life (with the standard battery).I have been using now for 4 days since my reinstall and a so far no further glitches. The unit is a pleasure to use.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO VGN-Z520N/B 13.1" Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400

I have been through my share of laptops in the past year. I am the I.T Manager for my company so I have a bit of experience in this department. Typically I go with DELL on just about everything, but honestly I believe they have captured most of the market and by doing so they have really started slacking on their products which led me to SONY. I'm not even going to touch a HP, Gateway or Toshiba and I had previously owned a SONY a few years ago and had relatively little to no problems so i figured i would try again.

So far I have been more than impressed! Out of the box this little guy fired right up without any problems. After about 45 minutes of removing the pre installed Sony software (not sure why it took some people hours?) and a few Windows updates this machine was flying.

The display is incredible, much better than any laptop display i have ever seen, this is partially due to the higher end Nvidia video card and the onboard 3GB of RAM.

The hard drive is more than enough for me at 320GB.

The unit only weighs 3.3lbs, to me this is nothing coming from a 14.1" DELL Precision M2400 which weighed about 2x that!

Some of my gripes:

Internal Broadband card is set to Sprint! (come on, who uses Sprint anymore?)

BIOS is very very limited, I'm a bit spoiled with all the options you can set in a DELL's BIOS

It's still a bit hard to find accessories for this laptop since it's so new. I'm trying really hard to find a extra power adapter since the one i bought at the Sony store is a "travel" adapter and it's basically a brick.

All in all I'm VERY happy with my purchase, I will be travelling to Germany in a couple weeks so i guess that will be the ultimate test.

Keep in mind, there is a big brother to this laptop that was not in stock at the time when i bought my laptop but i think it is called the VGN-Z590N which comes with a more powerful graphics card, a BluRay player and 4GB of RAM, had I seen that one i would have bought it but either way, I'm happy with what I got and would HIGHLY recommend it.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO VGN-Z520N/B 13.1" Laptop (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400

Review after using this since September. My model is slightly different and I use high resolution version.

There are some positives and negative.

Positives

Light but powerful

This PC is very light, but it does not sacrifice its processing power. Intel's latest 45nm P9500 works great. Even somewhat heavy graphic applications or encoding-decoding of files can work fast. Heat is also well controlled probably due to the benefit of the P9500 and the combination of internal system design and the air flow structure inside, which is typically the strong part of Sony that is very good at designing smaller consumer electronics. I never felt the annoying heat from the system on the keyboard and/or the areas around the mouse touch panel.

Long Life and Graphics

The switch above the keyboard that lets you choose between the nVidia chipset ("Speed") and the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD ("Stamina"). On a stamina mode, my experience is that the regular battery can keep the system running for around 6 hours, which is remarkable compared with its light weight. I set the brightness lower in addition to the stamina setting. Graphics resolutions and other features are automatically set at lower level on stamina mode. Performance, particularly with games and 3D applications, is better with the nVidia chipset, while the integrated graphics card favors battery life. A reboot is no longer required after a switch, either, due to the Intel Centrino 2's support for switchable graphics.

I use 1600x900 resolution for the display, which is beautiful due to its LED backlit and very high resolution compared with other laptops. Its benefit is that you can have more workspace when using multiple applications at the same time, for example, a few excel sheets and excel VBA at the same time.

Negatives

Software for 3G connection, using the embedded Sprint modem does have some issues with compatibility in some cases. In my case, some Excel Add-In that uses an internet network connection crushes Excel itself every time I use it. Vaio Support desk which is as you image very slow to response due to inappropriate advice and long waiting time spent 6-8 hours in total and finally gave up to solve the issue and admitted that the original SmartWi software that manages network connection cannot be removed from the system when you use the Sprint modem is making trouble with other Excel Add-in. I suspect that the usage through Sprint is monitored by the software and both Sony and Sprint have some agreement on the revenue sharing of wireless data fees. Anyway, this is not at all positive for users and I had to buy other modems for use mobile data connections. Sony needs to focus on hardware only or otherwise improve its software quality. The frustrating experience with the support desk tends to remain in the memory of users for very long period of time.

Otherwise, I feel the keyboard quality needs to be a bit improved to the extent that some key generates creaking noise sometimes. And the mouse pad area is just a bit too close to the keyboard and I sometimes touch it and make an error in typing.

Net-net, this is the best ultramobile notebook that has strong processing power, real mobility, and beautiful design that I ever seen. It outperforms many competitions like Mac Air and X series from Lenovo. This is expensive notebook but if you need the best one right now, this is it. SmartWi is annoying in some cases but the support desk should have learned something from the trouble that I had already.

Compaq CQ57-210US 15.6-Inch Notebook PC - Black Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Okay, I cheated and got mine at Wal-Mart on a whim only because they were pushing them out the store at my local store for $290 due to remodeling in process.

Let's be realistic and admit the specs are hardly awe inspiring, but I needed a laptop for school and it was either this or a netbook with less RAM, smaller screen, and shorter battery life.

After all, where else can you get a 15.6 inch laptop with a full keyboard that can manage to squeeze nearly 5 hours off a standard battery even with wireless running.

Now for the good points:

* DDR3 RAM instead of the usual DDR2

* RAM is easily upgraded. Hint, remove the battery and the lone screw holding the RAM plate in place will be staring you in the face. Although I'm not sure, this may be a safety precaution to make sure you do remove the battery first.

* 2GB RAM and 250GB HDD standard. Most netbooks cut these specs in close to half

* Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit instead of 32 bit Windows Starter found on most netbooks

* Plays video galore due to upgrade graphics capability over that normally found with the Atom processor

* Crisp, clear screen with no glare

* Speedier than the Atom processor in nearly everything

* No getting confused by buttons on this model. This is as plain Jane as you can get and that's good

* 15.6 inch screen means less page scrolling than with a netbook

* Not as heavy as you might think. Tops, maybe 5 pounds

* Rated at 4.5 hours but I managed to squeak nearly 5 hours

* Slick outside surface doesn't hold fingerprints, an oddity in the low price area

* Keys give decent feedback although it's not in the Lenovo class by any stretch

* Want a surprise? Play a music file and listen to the sound. This sucker comes with Altec Lansing speakers!

* Heat? What heat? This puppy doesn't make much. Even better, I have yet to hear the fan. My last Acer netbook made so much heat I couldn't put it on my lap after a while.

* Cheaper than a tablet and only marginally more expensive than a netbook

Nothing is perfect and this unit is no different:

* It's DDR3 RAM but it's limited to 4GB even though it's a 64 bit OS

* Bloatware galore

* As slab sided and ugly as ugly can get. Black plastic and acres of it without a lick of color anywhere. Guess for $300 you can't get artistic.

* Outside is devoid of fingerprints but interior finish picks them up like a Swiffer picks up dirt

* No dust over or protector for SD card slot. That's odd.

* One USB port is right next to power plug entry meaning no fat dongles allowed in that slot

* BIOS settings, while effective, are straight out of DOS in terms of design. May be a little nit-picky but instead of using the cursor to make choices you have to read a menu and press the appropriate F key to activate menu options

* Trackpad is worthless. No scrolling and since it's the same color as the casing it's impossible to see in the dark

* Like warning lights telling you about HDD activity, blah, blah, blah? Ain't happening here. Just one light to the left telling you the power is on and another to the right advising that wireless is working. No indication when plugged in that it's even charging (blind faith on that one)

Overall, I give this unit high marks because it's so much more than you might expect for the money all while being as plain a package as you can get.

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I ordered this notebook for my father. It was delivered very fast. We like the appearance and the keyboard is very comfortable. However, my father found some flashing black lines across the screen at the first use. The lines were not always there, but once they appeared, they stuck around until the window was closed and reopened. Most of the times, even the close-and-reopen strategy didn't work. We let it rest for one night and give it another try the second day, but things didn't get better. I returned it.

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It is a good product. Had to do a factory reset first to remove the previous owners personal effects, but after that all was fine.

Honest reviews on Compaq CQ57-210US 15.6-Inch Notebook PC - Black

Touch pad, same color as notebook.

DVD eject button not very easy to reach.

Cheap laptop for school, email, word processing .. etc.

Generally a slow computer at great price.

I would not buy it.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Compaq CQ57-210US 15.6-Inch Notebook PC - Black

I have had hardware issues with this laptop since I bought it. I've sent it back to the factory because of the modem, and it still doesn't work correctly. At least once a day the modem decides to stop working. I bumped the unit slightly with my hand when I picked it up and it dumped all my information and did an emergency shut down. This was literally a slight bump! The mousepad is a nightmare. I've had this computer for about 8 months and have had problems with it the whole time. When it is running, it runs slowly. I'm sure that is due to hardware issues as well. I will probably buy myself another computer just to end the aggravation, but it won't be another Compaq!

Cheap Acer Aspire V5-171-6860;NX.M3AAA.004 11.6-Inch Laptop

Customer Ratings:

Replaced my old netbook with this baby and didnt want Win 8. This compact laptop has EVERYTHING. 500GB hard drive, 6GB Ram, and 3rd generation Intel processor. Chose this number over the new Mac Air 13" which is sayin alot cuz I wanted the Mac BAD. But for the same crazy insane price as ONE Mac Air, I got this smokin laptop, a refurbed iPad direct from Apple, and replaced my cell phone. I am a genius.

Btw, this is same computer as the Acer V5-171-6422, with Win 7 instead of Win 8. (Comes w/optional Win 8 Pro Upgrade if you want it.) Check out the reviews on the V5-171-6422 this is the identical machine with no Win 8 grief.

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Ive had it for 6 months now and i love it. The sound quality is awful though. Get some speakers if sound quality matters to you. (Xmini does a great job since its small and portable too). Small size and big features like a 15". Perfect for school, bus or airplane. I bought a antiglare screen and now i have no problem taking it outside on a sunny day. Get before its too late. With tablets and windows 8 netbook running windows 7 are an endangered specie.

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This is one fantastic little computer .I had a hard time finding something that's 11.6" with Windows 7. Once I found this Acer with win7,Intel i5 I was ready. The first and second time I tried to order it, I ran into the problem of the listing company not really having it in stock as" new " or at all. Finally I found one that was refurbished and decided to give that a try. Wow, I have no idea what had to be fixed in this but I think it's faster than my big laptop with the same i5,in fact it blazes as well as the big desk top we have with the Intel i7. The only thing that hasn't lived up to what's published is battery life. After a full charge it says the time left on the battery is 4hrs. 6min. I don't know if a newer battery would solve that issue or not, but at least it's kinda close to the advertised battery time of 5hrs. I know that more people want a small laptop with Win8 and I'm sure that Acer has what you are looking for and would definitely recommend Acer as a product to look at.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire V5-171-6860;NX.M3AAA.004 11.6-Inch Laptop

A very nice size for travel and toting around. The smaller size can mean that some tasks are harder for older eyes. I do not find the smaller keyboard size to be a problem even though I have arthritic fingers. I did find it necessary to also purchase a mouse and a portable speaker for music, but I am a very fussy person. This was the very last one available with Windows 7 and is a great and stable little machine.

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Purchased Acer Aspire Timeline 1830T-6651 Intel I-5, as a travel laptop, exactly two years ago. The motherboard just died, despite being handled with kid gloves and with so little use. I asked the computer repair guy if the board going out so soon, with laptops in general, was prevalent these days. He said, "Yes". I thought with the tech advances in manufacturing, that laptops would become more reliable. He said, "The opposite is true". Didn't buy the extended warranty due to my misconception so have to buy a new laptop now. I'll tell you that I'll never buy a 'piece of junk Acer' again. Buy that extended warranty!

Review of ASUS S56CA-WH31 15.6-Inch Ultrabook

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $699.99
Sale Price: $429.49
Today's Bonus: 39% Off

I purchased this computer (S56CA-WH31) for my son to use at college, and have been configuring it for him for the past couple of days. Here are a few of my impressions so far:

The overall construction is very good except for one issue the DVD tray extends out from the side of the laptop by about 1 mm. One on-line reviewer noticed that the fit of the DVD tray was off in his review model also, but I am surprised that this got through into the production models. It is not a big issue, but it definitely detracts from the look of the aluminum body.

The screen is bright and clear and has good viewing angles. The keyboard is nice and big and works well with my hunt and peck. The large scroll pad is nice, and I am liking the imbedded buttons more than I thought I would.

The operating system is Windows 8 core (not pro). There is an ASUS-branded software DVD player, so I didn't have to upgrade to pro to get the windows media pack for DVD play as I feared I might have to. There is no utility to create recovery DVD's even though the paper manual refers to one called AI recovery. There is a Bluetooth module, so the "reviewer" who says that there isn't one is wrong.

The 500 GB hard drive is partitioned into a number of system and recovery partitions and a C: system partition of about 186 GB along with a D: data "drive" of about 258 GB. I used the Windows 8 disk manager to first remove the D: partition, expand the system "drive" to around 400 GB, and then used the rest of the space for a 39 GB D: drive just in case the recovery software expects to find the D: drive there.

I installed Start8 from Stardock to get a start menu back on the desktop, and have ordered a 4GB SODIMM to expand the memory up to 8 GB ($25) I figured more memory would be useful especially with the imbedded HD-4000 graphics.

I don't know what the reviewer who was complaining that this was a "slow" computer was talking about. It has a windows experience score of 4.8, which is not bad for an I-3 without turbo-boost and with imbedded graphics. It won't play highly graphics intensive games, but that's not what I bought it for, not should you expect it from the online specs.

Hope this is good enough for an initial review.

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Overall, this is a decent to good Ultrabook, providing fantastic value at the price point the i3 version is being offered for ($500 at time of purchase). I'd rate it at 3.5 stars. It's a handsome looking notebook and I bought this to replace a tiny netbook my wife had been using; the price of this Ultrabook is only a couple hundred more than a difficult to use small, brand new netbook, while having good functionality (good luck typing on a fancy, more expensive tablet, or sub 11" notebook), more processing grunt than tablets and most netbooks, all within a slim, relatively lightweight profile that is suitable for travel.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this ultrabook, but some of are non issues to casual users, while others make this ultrabook better suited to advanced users (or advanced users who set it up for a casual user).

OUT OF THE BOX:

The quality and appearance is great. The aluminum body and top lid are very sleek looking. The darker brushed aluminum on the top does tend to discolor and pick up fingerprints with ease. It's not terribly heavy and while the base is very sturdily built, the screen lid feels a bit flimsy. The top lid appears to be a combination of flimsier plastic, with a very thin brushed aluminum overlay. Lightly pressing on parts of the lid causes the LCD screen to have fluctuations. Despite the notebook being light, you'll want to resist picking up the notebook by the lid/screen, as it may risk damaging the LCD.

LCD QUALITY:

The glossy screen is clear, but has very poor viewing angles. 1366 x 768 resolution is merely adequate. Minor backlight bleeding on right and left edges. Colors are bright, vibrant, with a lot of contrast, but actual gamut (range of natural colors it can reproduce) is only average. This isn't a graphics workstation replacement nor intended for photographers/graphic artists who will be using this notebook for producing color perfect prints, so it's mostly a non issue.

TOUCHPAD:

The large touchpad seems to have fairly high dpi sensitivity, which is a very good thing. Swiping and navigating with the touchpad is fairly smooth, although I did experience an occasional stutters. Two and Three finger multitouch work as advertised. There is an easy to understand short manual showing users how to take advantage of the touchpad features. One of the nicer ones is to swipe in from the right edge to bring up the Windows 8 "Charms" bar.

KEYBOARD:

I'm a big fan of island style keyboards and having a full numpad. Keyboard feels very good to use and will have no problems for users who need to do a lot of typing and numerical input with it.

SPEAKERS:

The speakers are pretty unique and are actually integrated into the laptop's battery and produce a fantastic range of sound for a laptop. Among the best I've heard. UPDATE: Apparently, they're in the laptop. The battery has a faux speaker cover looking applique.

CPU+GRAPHICS:

The i3 provides a nice balance between power consumption and speed. The i3 is not slow by any means and the Intel integrated graphics aren't either. While you won't be able to play the newest games on high settings on this, many games are completely playable at low-mid settings. 1080p videos play flawlessly (when output to a higher resolution screen). The Intel integrated graphics share graphics memory with the computer-if you add another 4GB of RAM (~$25), you can, through the BIOS settings, increase total graphics memory allocation to 512MB. I was able to play Shogun 2: Total War on decent quality settings after a small memory upgrade. The graphics power is around that of the Nvidia GT 610M or GT 630M (with max 512mb memory allocation).

HARD DRIVE:

This ultrabook has an integrated 24GB mSATA SSD (short type) on the motherboard and a 500GB 5400 rpm secondary hard drive, where both operate in tandem as a hybrid HDD (via Intel IRST). This provides relatively quick boot up and loading of most programs, but the 5400rpm hard drive a big crutch and despite any marketing, these 5400rpm drives are always a crutch and I've had a bit of slowdown on this notebook solely due to the 5400rpm drive. I swapped it out for an SSD, but it was a lot of work, which I'll get into later. This Ultrabook operates much faster and more reliably with an SSD in place of the 5400rpm mechanical drive.

INTEGRATED PERIPHERALS:

A nice amount of ports, USB 2.0 and 3.0 work at advertised speeds, HDMI and VGA out is nice, although I do wish it had an eSATA port. The camera is not very good and produced a very grainy picture. It's a typical low end webcam. Bluetooth, which was included in my model, has adequate range. I am surprised that a DVD drive can fit in this form factor, squeezing one in might have resulted in some QC issues with mine-the eject DVD button works strangely, requiring a abnormally hard button press to get the DVD tray to eject. The DVD drive motor is also incredibly loud. DC Power jack seems pretty reinforced and feels like it won't be the first thing to go, as opposed to some of the other laptops I've owned.

BATTERY:

I get close to 5 hours with regular use which is more than adequate, considering how slim the battery is. Not as high as other ultrabooks, but this ultrabook is also less expensive.

BLOATWARE:

Not too heavy on bloatware, as compared with other manufacturers. Only had about 6 unnecessary programs to remove, albeit some of the Asus apps may be useful for the casual user (as they can provide easy file swapping options for connecting smartphones, working with the webcam, and setting up power options).

ADVANCED USERS/UPGRADES:

RAM is pretty easy to add another 4 GB. I also do like that it is just one single panel to remove (2 screws) to access both the HDD and the extra RAM slot. If you want to remove both sticks, you will need to remove the entire bottom cover/enclosure (about 16 screws). The BIOS is very lacking in options, which is unusual for Asus. There are no options to remove the Asus boot logo, nor are there options to select which boot device to use. It doesn't appear that this ultrabook allows booting from a USB thumbdrive, as I tried several bootable thumbdrives when I was trying a clean install, each time met with failure. It does allow booting from DVD, but I would feel better knowing I could boot from USB in case of DVD drive failure. Additionally, regarding the BIOS, this uses Secure Boot and an SLIC BIOS, which for the layman, automatically loads licensing data and prevents "unsigned" bootable DVDs and thumbdrives from loading/booting. This is why the laptop has no Windows License sticker. This was a big issue for me as I tried doing a clean install of Windows 8 Pro, but the SLIC BIOS automatically kept loading up the manufacturer keys for Win 8 Standard OEM during install, preventing me from using my own Windows 8 license. I was ultimately able to do a clean install Win 8 Pro, but it required some very hacky methods and backwards logic that I'll detail in the comments.

Replacing the slow 500GB HDD with an SSD and installing an OS on it is a little tricky due to the integrated onboard mSATA SSD. If you're doing a clean install you'll have to reinitialize the mSATA SSD to restore the Intel IRST functions (Fast Boot, Fast Resume, Instant On, etc). You can also liberate and get full use of the onboard 24GB mSATA SSD as a conventional drive, alongside your own drive by deleting the GPT partitions and creating new volumes...but I recommend making a backup of all factory partitions+data from the 24GB mSATA SSD so you can return the laptop to factory settings, if necessary. The 24GB mSATA SSD is removeable, but it uses a short card; the longer, larger capacity standard size mSATA SSD cards, while they will fit, have no screw standoff to secure it. I'll be adding a laptop screw standoff so I can swap the 24GB integrated mSATA SSD with a 128GB mSATA SSD. Or you can completely remove the mSATA SSD and just have a single drive notebook. The wireless network card can be removed, but there may be a hardware lock that prevents other wireless network cards from working on the motherboard. For now, I'm happy with the Atheros card that's in there, as it's compatible with some penetration testing software I have. There's a limited amount of tinkering that can be done on this Ultrabook, and I do feel some is necessary to get the most out of this notebook (replace HDD with SSD).

Despite some of its flaws, the underlying common denominator that makes this worthy of a purchase is it's price. You get a lot of Ultrabook for not too much money. With some tweaks, such as replacing the HDD, and maybe reintigrating the Start button via the $4.99 Stardock Start 8 program, it can be a great Ultrabook for casual and advanced users alike.

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*UPDATE AFTER SSD PURCHASE*

Upgrading the internal HDD to a 240GB SSD has fixed all of the problems I mentioned in my previous update. The computer now runs incredibly fast.

I will add, however, that trying to reinstall Windows 8 with the same product key was impossible except by using an unmodified x64 iso of Windows 8. For some reason, I could not download the iso from Microsoft and had to find it elsewhere. After finally getting the proper iso, the reinstall was a breeze, and the OEM product key was entered in automatically (make sure you have secure boot enabled). I also formatted the internal 24GB SSD and now use it to store my internet browser's cache to extend the life of my 2.5" SSD. Not having the Intel Rapid Start or Asus Instant On features has not created any noticeable affect on performance or resume speeds.

*UPDATE AFTER 2 WEEKS OF USE*

Do NOT buy this laptop if you don't intend to upgrade the internal Hard Drive to an SSD. The performance of the internal HDD bottlenecks the entire computer. I cannot listen to a 320kbps mp3 while browsing the internet without it skipping/stuttering, and I cannot listen to a FLAC file doing nothing else without it skipping. I also cannot watch an SD .avi file without it skipping/stuttering at least 10 times during a 40 minute TV show, and I cannot play Worms: Reloaded (a very simple game that this computer should be able to handle) without it locking up for a second or two EVERY 3 SECONDS. Either the internal HDD is EXTREMELY slow (my guess because my RAM and CPU usage are always well below 100%, and it's not just video but also audio that skips) or my unit is defective in some other way. The HDD indicator light is pretty much constantly on when I try to do any of the previously mentioned tasks as well. I will be ordering a 240GB SSD within the next month to see if that fixes the problem. Otherwise I will be sending the unit in to Asus. If you need a working laptop for under $500, don't get this. I'm going to be spending at least $200 on this laptop within the next few months (SSD and 8GB more RAM).

If the SSD upgrade fixes the problems, I would rate this at 4 stars again, but these issues bring it down to 2 for now.

----------------

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

This is a review for the Core i3 with 4GB of RAM.

PROS:

-Great keyboard w/ numpad, touchpad, and overall build quality with ample ports.

-Large, glossy screen and great audio quality on built in speakers.

-Snappy performance with Windows 8 on the internal SSD

-Laptop stays cool under load.

-Instant On resumes the OS very quickly.

-Latest 22nm version of the Intel CPU/GPU chipset (a lot of Ultrabooks in this price range are using the older 32nm architecture)

-ASUS Gesture makes Windows 8 a breeze on a non-touchscreen device.

CONS:

-Battery life is a bit lacking with the 4-cell battery (around 5 hours) BUT it also charges insanely fast (faster than my cell phone)

-LCD quality could be better; although it is perfectly adequate for a student or casual user. The viewing angles are limited and the color range is not the greatest. Tweaking the graphics settings helps quite a bit, but if the screen quality is the most important thing in a laptop to you, you probably won't be happy.

-The back is a fingerprint magnet, but that's nothing a little Windex can't help.

-DVD drive sticks out a NEGLIGENT amount on the backside. It's less than 1mm for me, and the front is flush. I've seen people complaining about it, but don't see it as being a huge deal.

-The speakers are on the bottom, so when the laptop is sitting on a bed, sound is a bit muffled but still loud enough.

-Grainy webcam

As a student, this laptop suits me very well. It's got enough battery life to make it through a day of classes without charging, and it's extremely light due to the stylish and thin aluminum design. Sound quality is great, and the display is adequate for mobile use (I'll do my Photoshopping at home on my desktop though). The processor is very fast as well. I've always been an AMD user except for an eeePC that had an Intel Atom. I'm very happy with the speeds of the i3; in comparison to my desktop's Phenom II X3 2.8Ghz the i3 transcoded an album from FLAC to V0 in 160% of the time it took the Phenom. Not bad at all. I've yet to do any gaming yet on this laptop, but I have a feeling with a total 6-8GB of RAM the Ultrabook would have no problem playing many recent games on low-medium settings. As far as video, the HD 4000 graphics provide a perfect HD media streaming experience. The webcam, however, is mediocre at best with a grainy, but decently high resolution image.

As far as future modifications, I intend to purchase a 128GB SSD to replace the internal HDD as well as pick up another 4GB of RAM. A freshly booted system configured to my liking (Rocketdock & Rainmeter) uses 66% of the internal 4GB due to the onboard GPU. I also would consider buying a larger battery if offered and if it's the same dimensions as the stock one. These are all things that are unnecessary due to the incredible price of this Ultrabook ($439.99 after rebate for me), but they will unlock this device's full potential.

In the end, I am very happy with my purchase; although I could have gotten a more expensive Ultrabook with more power, this packs a great punch for the price. It will be more than adequate for my internet browsing, mobile music production, word processing, media streaming, and casual gaming. Plus it makes a great fashion statement because it looks even sexier than a Mac ;)

Honest reviews on ASUS S56CA-WH31 15.6-Inch Ultrabook

I'd like to start out by saying that the majority of the grievances spelled out by other individuals typically revolve around the software. That is, Windows 8 and the suite of Asus prepacked crap.

And they're not wrong. It truly is horrendous. Windows 8 was a massive misstep by Microsoft and Asus' bundleware doesn't exactly enhance the experience.

SCREW WINDOWS 8:

Fortunately this was destined to be a Linux laptop, specifically Fedora 19 (https://fedoraproject.org/). I'll be using it as a software engineering student starting in the fall and this is looking to shape up to be a wonderful Linux laptop. It is fairly standard hardware and appears to be well supported (ethernet, WLAN, bluetooth, power management, webcam, etc.). I have also heard reports that it works well with the Debian based distros as well as the more "server-esque" distros such as CentOS and Arch Linux. The diagnostics done on this laptop were through Hiren's Boot CD which recognized all of the hardware just fine.

BIOS CONFIGURATION:

The first thing done was to update the laptop's BIOS to the latest version (208 as of writing this. Was 206). This, and morbid curiosity, was the only reason I booted into Windows 8 in the first place as using Asus' Windows based flash utility is the easiest way to get this done. Doing this did flip SecureBoot to enabled (it was actually disabled by default in 206). Just go back into the BIOS and disable it again. If you can't boot from CD be sure that "Launch CSM" is enabled under boot options in the BIOS and that the DVD drive is set to have boot priority over the Windows boot loader. If you intend to do a PXE installation you can enable that as well. Otherwise you can ignore it.

HARD DRIVES:

Both the 500GB hard drive and the 24GB SSD survived an extended test in GSmartControl with zero errors. The SSD benchmarked a read/write of 4.2GB/s and 344MB/s, very respectable.

The drives were immediately zeroed and given the following partitioning scheme:

/dev/sda1 swap (encrypt) 4GB

/dev/sda2 /boot ext4 500MB

/dev/sda3 / ext4 (encrypt) 19.5GB

/dev/sdb1 /home ext4 (encrypt) 500GB

This gives the OS, swap and applications the entire SSD and reserves the slow hard drive for data (office and Eclipse workspaces, mostly). Disk encryption works fine and as expected. Boot and application load times are snappy and responsive.

RAM:

I purchased an extra 4GB of RAM to go with this unit (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006EWUP4Y/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) which was an easy install. Simply take out two screws, slide off a back panel and snap the module in. Numerous YouTube videos can be found demonstrating this. Both the laptop memory and the purchased memory survived six runs (10+ hours) of Memtest86 without issue (http://www.memtest86.com/). I only

GRAPHICS:

The Intel HD4000 graphics is more than enough for HD video and some basic gaming (hey, Steam is on Linux these days!). If you install more RAM into the laptop you can feel free to up the available memory for the graphics to 512MB via the BIOS (the default is a miserly 64MB so you may want to up it regardless). Games such as Portal and Bastion boot up and play fine. In fact, they load surprisingly fast considering that I have my Steam games installed to the HDD.

TEMPERATURES:

~41C-45C while idle or internet browsing. Prime95 brought the temps up to approx. 61C. Not too bad.

MISC:

Yes, the webcam is as grainy as others have reported. If this is an issue for you, avoid this unit. If not, then...feh? The ethernet, wireless and bluetooth work at the advertised speeds. The inclusion of a DVD drive is nice for those of us who cannot let go. The screen is large and bright.

The summary is the hardware will do its job quite well. The issue is with Windows 8 and Asus' bundleware. If you can I would suggest downgrading to Windows 7 or dropping an alternative OS under the hood. With the right configuration this is an absolutely wonderful piece of hardware at an unbelievable price.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS S56CA-WH31 15.6-Inch Ultrabook

I wanted a laptop that's attractive, reliable, at least i3 processor and under $500. Amazon had a gold box deal on the Dell 15N and, while it met my minimum qualifications, it was somewhat of a dud. The thick plastic body and the cheap feel of the keyboard was disappointing but I would have kept it for just over $300 I paid if it weren't for the wi-fi connection issues. I returned to Amazon and was credited fully right away. Personally I feel that there's no better retailer than Amazon right now.

As soon as I got my credit for the Dell return, this laptop goes on gold box deal. Talk about good fortune. This laptop that qualifies as an ultrabook (barely) is easily 5 stars for the price I paid. Not many people can say that they paid just over $400 for an ultrabook.

Performance is commendable. Even though I'm a casual user and don't do much that is graphics or processor intensive, I have yet to see any slowness of my applications and, with the hybrid HD setup, is the fastest booting computer I ever owned.

Reliability is top notch. Not a single hiccup detected at nearly a month's use. You also get the Asus warranty including accidental drop/spill damage protection.

Full of features including Bluetooth, HDMI out, USB 3.0 and an optical drive that not all ultrabooks have. Drive tray does stick out by a sliver when closed and isn't completely flush as some other reviewers noted but I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't read that on others' posts.

Sounds great. Best sounding laptop I ever owned. The speakers are down firing so having this on a flat surface is best for listening.

Excellent design. At .83" and 4.6 lbs, it is thin and light and I am a big fan of the brushed metal look of the aluminum body. Yes, it does leave finger prints but what laptop doesn't?

Decent battery life. Was able to squeeze 5hrs. Not the best but good for having 4 cell battery.

The keyboard, while not backlit, is nice and feels well built. Touchpad is responsive but is big, bigger than other laptops I owned so it took a little getting use to.

The screen is average. Like most mid level laptop screens it has good color and contrast with a little backlight bleed at the corners and short viewing angles. It definitely is not an Apple Retina Display.

Win8. Some hate, some like and some get use to. I got use to it. Works fine for my needs. Just glad that it came with minimal bloatware.

The 500gb HDD is 5400 rpm not 7200 as stated in some places but it fits my needs. Swapping it out for a SSD would improve performance no doubt but I really don't have the need to invest in that. I did put a $25 4gb RAM in the open slot and that will be the extent of my hardware upgrades.

Some states that the cooling fan is very loud. I have yet to notice after 3+ weeks of use and is quiet as a whisper. Will update post if it starts doing so.

This computer looks, feels and sounds great. While not the ultra of the ultrabooks, its performance is excellent for a casual user.

Cheap Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

Customer Ratings:

This is a solid product! It reminds me of the old thinkpads. IT DOES NOT COME WITH A DISK DRIVER OF ANY TYPE, instead it has another graphic card in that slot. Hope you don't accidentally make the purchase and rate another one star to this great laptop. The keyboard light is really amazing! And the 1920X1080 screen is stunning! Especially when I move my eyes from the old z570 to it. Also, the JBL speaker has the best sound quality I have ever heard from a laptop. I am not getting used to win 8 yet, and the mac-like tracking pad makes it even harder. It does have some little problem with jumping pointers. But my old z570's tracking pad has almost the same problem while I am trying to use it to scroll down a web page. So it is not a big problem to me. BTW, the 170w adapter is...HUGE... It is two times as large as z570's adapter.

UPDATE

I have been playing with this laptop for a while and have some new thoughts that I think is worth to share.

1.It is beautiful but very easy to leave finger prints on, EVERYWHERE.

2.The tracking pad area is better when I got used to it. I actually love it now,but I still hate win8.

3.Usually they are very quiet, but on massive tasks such as gaming the cooling fans will roar! The sound is not annoying to me. The fans are doing great job on keeping the GPUs cool. Without help from any cooling pads,temperature is kept around 65 degrees(C) under full load at default frequency and around 70 under full load when I overclocked them to 925mhz core clock and 1250mhz memory clock.

4.The SSD+HDD hard drive is using express-cache technology,which uses the SSD part of the hard drive as cache to improve performance of the HDD. Its not good as it sounds. You will need CMD to check if it works (which it should but didn't at first on my case and made me recovered the laptop to its original status to bring it on). If you don't know how to check it,relax, you don't need to either. Because the windows system rating of the hard drive is the same 5.9 when the express-cache is on or off. I did not use any other program to test the exact reading and writing speed,because there won't be much difference with or with out the express-cache I believe. So, if you want real improve on the speed of hard drive, buy SSD.

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So far this computer is pretty amazing. I wanted to come and help outweigh this other guy's rating because he was rating solely on an accident by Amazon and not the computer itself. It's pretty amazing and I will edit this and write more when I get to use it more.

It looks great, it is fast and it has everything I want. I do have one qualm though. With the supposed bundled software I don't believe that it includes the software serial numbers... which means that the software is not actually bundled.

Now just to find out if I can get a Bluray ultrabay drive.

EDIT: This computer is shipping with the Synaptics touchpad, not the ELAN Tech touchpad so the problems are minimal. It's no Apple trackpad but it is much better than the flimsy piece of junk ELAN Tech is manufacturing.

EDIT 2: The 16gb solid state drive is now failing in my machine already, however that's not too uncommon for a ssd. The problem is, Lenovo has mediocre customer service and left MUCH to be desired. However Amazon made it all ok by sending me the new computer first as I will send them this one after it arrives. Great! Should all be ok.

Best Deals for Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

I been mac user for years and am used to the high quality panel and whisper quiet of mac. I searched high and low and read review for MONTHS and tested many laptops in store. This Lenovo use LG panel with high contrast and rich, saturated color. Most Asus and Samsung laptop use AOU and CHI MEI panel which looked washed out. That's right, even Samsung 1080p laptop that's north of 1000 dollars range mostly use Chi Mei and AOU panel now. Furthermore, this laptop is whisper quiet, near the level of Macbook pro. You can leave it on next to you and fall asleep. I did not purchase from Amazon but I do own this laptop.

Honest reviews on Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

A couple of months ago I got interested in photography and video to capture my kids precious moments. My aging Macbook pro from 2006 could no longer render movies or manage large raw photo files efficiently. Rendering a small movie from AVCHD to a youtube compatible format took way too long and did it using additional programs. Also, my Macbook pro screen was fading and HD pictures or video just did not look right. So...it was time for an upgrade. I have loved the Mac experience for years and I looked at the new Retina display laptops from Apple. I wanted a 15 inch Macbook pro, but the $2000 price tag for their entry level was crazy. And the fact that the new Macbooks cannot be upgraded discouraged me a lot as it would not be future proof. The entry $2000 15 inch Mac came with a corei7 2.4 Ghz, 8 Gigs of RAM and a 256 Gigs SSD. I wanted 16 Gigs of RAM and a larger hard drive, but customizing the Mac to my desires was going to be way too expensive. So, I decided to take a look at the PC world again. Besides, Windows 8 was out and my experience with Windows 7 at work has been very acceptable. I was looking at ASUS laptops, Sony's and others. Out of good luck I landed into a review of the Lenovo Y500. I started reading more about it and was amazed at the features it had on paper, plus the price tag was within my budget. It had more memory than the Mac, more storage space (but slower) and dual graphics cards. It also had a nice Full HD screen (Not as nice as Retina, but good enough). In summary (hardware wise) the Mac was only winning on the Retina display as the hard drive on the Lenovo could be replaced with an SSD anytime (And...the Lenovo comes with a 16 Gig SSD anyway for catching). I did read about the problems regarding the touch-pad, but for my intended use I was going to have a dedicated mouse anyway. I decided to try it. Bought it on a Wednesday and it arrived on that Friday. I opened it and was a little disappointed when I saw the size of the laptop and the power supply (Huge), but I quickly overcame that issue. I turned it on and configured Windows 8 (My first interaction with this Version of Windows). Windows 8 was nice and felt very responsive. Things had changed from Windows 7, but the laptop performed well. The hard drive did not seem as slow as 5400 RPM Hard Drives usually are....maybe the 16Gig SSD cache really improves things in that department. I shut down the laptop and started it again from cold. Windows booted up in less that 10 seconds...WOW. Now I loaded all my editing applications and started doing some informal testing....incredible...rendering is super fast on this machine. The screen is very beautiful...some glare as it is high gloss...but overall very nice. Applications open instantaneously and... remember the touch-pad issue?...well....mine came with the updated touch-pad from synaptics and it works quite well.

A few days ago I got a Hybrid Hard Drive from Seagate and replaced the original one on the laptop. I also installed a fresh copy of Windows 8 Pro and this machine now beats anything. It boots in about 5 seconds and on heavy intensive tasks it does not struggle and it does not get hot. It runs surprisingly cool at all times and the fans are very silent when they come on. Fantastic value. In the future I am going to put an SSD drive and it will scream even more. This is a very high quality laptop with top performance at a very fair price. And this positive review comes from an Apple fanboy who owns most apple products. Lenovo and Windows are going in the right direction.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

This laptop is really good. Like totally great. The screen is alittle smaller than normal 15.6 inch laptop. It does not overheat unless you do super hardcore gaming. I gamed a few decent graphic game the first time and it heated up near where your palms are leaning on, but after 4-9 games it stop getting warm. My laptop froze about 3 times and im still trying to figure out the cause of it. The only thing I can think of is that it is chrome. Freezing happened to my last laptop when I had chrome. It loads up in 3-4 sec, then log in. after logging in, loads up another 3 sec. In reality of it, you only have 22 gb free of solid state drive. and the other is like 800 gb. I don't know where the rest of the gb went. I dont mind I guess. I use an external hard drive. This is my first time using windows 8 and its different but im getting use to it.

Honestly in my opinion, technology is changing so mind as well catch up with it. no need to stay with the window 7 . I always keep my laptop plugged in and not use the battery so i couldnt tell you how long it last. Info: if you are playing at home or using at home. plug the laptop in without the battery in the laptop, that way you arent overcharging your battery. I also use an external fan pad under the laptop and it stays nice and cool.

The laptop also comes with a program that has an auto control for your fan so you can dust out the interior of your laptop. I thought it was pretty cool. It's under the energy management program.

Shipping? I was irritated when my laptop came to my house. It was shipped how you buy a laptop at bestbuy or fries and it comes in a laptop box. Well,,, my laptop came to my house in a LAPTOP BOX, and by UPS. So you know, if I wasnt at home, someone knows that oh hey, you got a laptop in front of your house and no one is home. I can steal it. get it? So if you're expecting this laptop, I suggest you stay home the day you get it, or you gonna get jacked.

Pros: fast, screen quality is clear, font size is small.

Cons: Freezes at times.

Update: Apparently Lenovo warranty does not cover software issues. Lenovo warranty only covers hardware issues. and one day fix for SOFTWARE is 89.00. yes, thats right, 89 dollars for one day fix and it covers you for your laptop not breaking down for only 3 days. yup, 3 days only. My laptop freezes and starting to have a black flickering screen and turned black. I dont know but I hear some models have this issue about leaving it on for awhile then when u do something, the screen turns black and flickers when u move the mouse.

Sony VAIO E Series SVE14135CXW 14-Inch Laptop (White) Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I have always purchased HP laptops in the past, but wanted to go with something new from an aesthetic standpoint. It's very light, but has tons of memory/features/power. And for the price, you can't beat it.

Two things i have found a bit annoying:

1) The Touchpad is very, very sensitive. Not sure if this can be adjusted, if so, haven't figured out how yet. But it tends to not "release" resulting in pages re-sizing, programs switching, etc. unintentionally.

2) When running the web browser (I use Chrome), it will periodically "lose" the network connection. The network will still be there and active (you can access it on other devices), but you have to disconnect from the network and re-connect for it to work again. I'm sure this is a bug that has or will be fixed soon.

Other than that, loving the new laptop!

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yea i am a geek but the design aspects of this little guy are really different. the mouse moves in a odd way not like standard but the keys and so quiet and smooth. looks are very sleek.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO E Series SVE14135CXW 14-Inch Laptop (White)

This computer fits the bill as lighter and has more capacity that my current 15 inch Dell.

I needed more memory and faster speeds for picture storage while traveling.

Not too enthralled with the Windows 8 version, but need to get familiar with it.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO E Series SVE14135CXW 14-Inch Laptop (White)

Got this as a gift from my uncle but then it was $610.00 so now that the price has gone up i'm glad to know that i was among the very few who got at a lowered price.

So the laptop is amazing. I got a florescent green rubber keyboard sheet with it because i have a history of spilling water/tea on the keyboard.

The laptop is fast, keyboard is very comfy, i love the back lighting. This is the major reason i wanted to switch from my previous laptop(it was ASUS k52f) a great machine also. But it didnt have backlit keyboard. So i am enjoying this light feature. Plus the color of laptop is amazing.

Windows 8 will need some getting used to but i'm getting the hang of it. its a super fast machine. What else can i say... i love it? yes. Will i change it again? not before another 2-3 years.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO E Series SVE14135CXW 14-Inch Laptop (White)

This is the first time I purchase a Sony laptop, I am replacing my Dell laptop because Dell sucks. I have made three replacements for my dell so far.

Anyway today is the my first day with this new laptop, looks great, clean, slim, fast, doesn't make noises

I am struggling a bit to get myself familiar with Windows 8 but it is not a big deal.

The only thing I am disappointed in this laptop is the Audio. I expected a high quality speakers from Sony. Compared to my Dell, Dell is much much stronger and better in audio volume and quality.

Cheap Acer Aspire 5516-5063 15.6-Inch Laptop

Customer Ratings:

This is a really great laptop for the price.

I mainly use it for Surfing the Net, Word Processing and General Tomfoolery.

Don't expect a desktop replacement for sure, but with a memory upgrade it'll run and run well.

I especially like the SD card reader right up front. Makes it easy to switch my music around between my computers.

Wifi radio is nice and strong and easy to use. The wifi button is not in a place where you can accidentaly turn it off which is great since I suffer from Chronic Fat Finger syndrome.

I give it 4 stars because it is exactly what I needed and right at my price point.

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My old laptop was stolen so I needed something in a pinch. After having one swiped, I decided to go low-budget. This laptop is the ticket. Thus far, it's running as well as my old laptop, I love the full sized keyboard. It's basic, but it does the trick, it runs well, and seems pretty reliable. I am going to upgrade the memory, which you can buy from Amazon for 25 bucks. To upgrade, buy a 2GB (single) 200 pin SODIMM Ram, 5300. Great system for the money. I would highly recommend it.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire 5516-5063 15.6-Inch Laptop

I just got this laptop for my birthday (but mostly for doing my homework). I like it a lot, but there are two things that drive me nuts when I use it.

1) Sometimes I will just have the mouse positioned over a link, and the link will automatically open without me clicking anything, which is annoying. Also there is a function where the mouse sometimes goes into some sort of scrolling mode that I can't control which I don't like.

2) Secondly, this laptop supposedly comes with a built-in webcam, but for the life of me, I cannot get it to work! I have read on the Internet that a lot of other people are having this problem too, and eventually it looks like the only solution is to take it to a repair shop. :P

But, those are my only quips with my laptop so far. Besides that, it's wonderful and I really like it!

HP ENVY 15t-3200 Notebook Reviews

Customer Ratings:

It's been about a month now since i got it and it's working pretty well. no complaints thus far. It's really a good deal people.

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I have been in IT field for 15 years. So far, this Envy 15 notebook is my favorite machine. I've used it for almost everything (IT works, digital video/photo editing, games, watching movies). Now with Windows 8 Pro on it, performance is rock solid. For the price I paid, I have nothing less than good to say about this notebook. HP did a great job on this computer.

Best Deals for HP ENVY 15t-3200 Notebook

I was excited when I bought this product as a gift for my wife. It all went flat the very first day, the notebook hard drive crashed and I got good support from the seller LGI but I had to return it as it had to be replaced. I'm currently working with LGI on a replacement option as this model has been discontinued. Will check back in on the results

Cheap IBM ThinkPad A31 Intel Pentium 4 1600 MHz 40Gig IDE HDD 1024mb DDR

Customer Ratings:

The Laptop over all seemed a bit slow for my needs although for most applications it performed well. I loaded a simple chess database program into it and it performed poorly. Streaming video was quite the chore with frequent slow downs in downloading. I had no thoughts of returning it until I realized that I had been slipped a bad battery. When I kept getting shut down after only 10 minutes of use.....that was the last straw.

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ASUS UL80J-BBK5 Intel Core i3-330um 14-Inch LED Slim Type Laptop Reviews

Customer Ratings:

First off, I didn't buy this product at Amazon.com; I purchased it refurbished from TigerDirect.com.

Total ownership: 2 1/2 MONTHS

The packaging looked close to retail, but with no markings or product logos. It only had one large sticker that showed the Brand, referb, and laptop specs.

All manuals, AC power, and startup papers were in the box.

Laptop seemed to be in good condition, with some minor cosmetic issues. The plastic border around the screen had minor scratches. (all around The screen itself was in great condition. Other than that, the laptop as a whole looked 4/5/

The reason I gave it a 3/5, if for what counts...internal parts and usability. There are 2 major problems I have with this laptop. First, the hard drive is constantly locking up and freezing the computer making it unusable until I force shutdown. I cannot Ctrl+Alt+Del, I have to hold the power button down to completely shutdown and restart. Upon restart, Windows detects hundreds of hard disk error, bad sectors, and corrupt files. It goes through fixing these errors before restarting and booting into Windows. This happens several times a week, sometimes several times in hours! I don't know if they shipped it with a faulty hard drive or it might be the laptop itself. I haven't had time to do further tests. Either way, this shouldn't be happening 2 months into ownership.

Second issue, the Wi-Fi cuts off for NO reason and can NOT be turned back on using the shortcut keys. I tried updating the drivers. Looking for drives on the ASUS site and Wifi vendor site. Same problem. To fix this temporarily, I have to restart and sometimes this fixes the issue. It's hit or miss. Sometimes after restart it doesn't turn on automatically, so when I shortcut key it, it freezes the computer and I have to restart until they turn back on. VERY FRUSTRATING!

If you have $500 to gamble on this laptop get it! It's great when it works, but frustrating when it doesn't

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Brand new, great computer, memory and it works just great, wonderful service, i receive it before i though, Awesome Congrats

Best Deals for ASUS UL80J-BBK5 Intel Core i3-330um 14-Inch LED Slim Type Laptop

I purchased this laptop in September of 2011. I had an occasional blue screen shut down even early on, but didn't return it because I could deal with it and thought that it was to be expected once in a blue moon. More recently I had a problem where it wouldn't detect my wireless adapter, then it would get blue screens more and more regularly, but it was outside of the warranty window. I now have a sleek looking brick that won't even turn on. I will be wary of refurbished products on Amazon from now on.

HP 2000-417NR 15.6" Notebook (1.3 GHz AMD Dual-Core E-300 Reviews

Customer Ratings:

ive had this computer since February, and i gotta say it has impressed me, though the processor is kinda lacking, it is a pretty sturdy little machine, and it gets FANTASTIC battery life, my only real complaint is that the network card likes to fail at completely random times, probably an isolated incident, as ive never heard of any of these doing that, but over all, for the price, this is an impressive laptop, i like it alot

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this is the slowest computer I have ever used. Worthless for anything more than word processing, or simple spreadsheet. Opening pages, or control panel panes or just about anything results in painfully long delays. I have given up on hp products, as I have seen a steady decline in quality over the years. Invest your hard-earned dollars in a comparably priced Lenovo for a much better value.

Best Deals for HP 2000-417NR 15.6" Notebook (1.3 GHz AMD Dual-Core E-300

muy buena la maquina es rapida ,y es bonita no tan pesada y ademas excelente precioooo 100% positivo el vendedor

Honest reviews on HP 2000-417NR 15.6" Notebook (1.3 GHz AMD Dual-Core E-300

A great laptop that will make anyone happy. The battery lasts long enough. Windows 7 is great on this and it comes with it.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP 2000-417NR 15.6" Notebook (1.3 GHz AMD Dual-Core E-300

It is a great computer at an affordable price. Everything works great so far and I have nothing to complain about yet.

Dell Inspiron 15 N5050 2.3GHz Intel Core i3 Notebook - Obsidian Review

Customer Ratings:

I wanted a laptop for some time and searched on the internet looking for one that had the bells and whistles but affordable. I came across the Dell N5050 for a little under $500 with 500G hard drive and 4G memory. I work at home on the computer so I needed one that I really felt comfortable with and this is it. The only negative I can say about it is a personal preference which is no numeric keypad. Working with numbers I have to use the ones above the letters but am learning quickly. I would recommend this computer to anyone that wants speed and affordability.

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